Abd al-Samad

Khwaja Abd as- Samad (* first half of the 16th century in Shiraz, † 1595 in Delhi or Lahore ) was a Persian- Indian miniature painter, calligrapher and Münzgestalter. Along with Mir Sayyid Ali, he is considered the founder of the North Indian Mughal School, which is derived from the Persian tradition of miniature painting.

Abd as- Samad was the son of a Persian minister. He worked as a painter and calligrapher Shah Tahmasp I. for at whose court in Tabriz. 1544/45 he entered the service of the exiled Mughal emperor Humayun from India, whom he followed to Kabul in 1549. There he taught Humayun and his son Akbar in painting. 1555 accompanied Abd as- Samad, together with the derived also from Persia painter Mir Sayyid Ali his master on his return to India, where he came to high honor. Between 1567 and 1582 he led with Me Sayyid Ali over 50 artists comprehensive school of painting at the imperial court of Akbar. Among his pupils were also formative for later Akbar - time painter and Basawan Daswanth. 1576 he was appointed head of the mint of Fatehpur Sikri, for which he designed various coin designs, and in 1586 the Diwan ( Minister of Finance) of the province of Multan appointed. Already under Humayun († 1556 ), he had been awarded the honorary title of Shirin Qalam ( " sweet spring ").

Abd as- Samad painting style long remained the Safavid school of Tabriz arrested, but was subject to increasingly Indian influences, which were expressed mainly in the choice of subject and the stronger characterization of the characters shown. The vertical perspective initially adopted from Persian models, he was in favor of a more realistic depictions on in cavalier perspective. However, the background landscapes of his paintings have clearly Persian character. Likewise, people and animals by Persian model are still played heavily idealized. Among the most important works that are Abd as- Samad attributed to include the more than 1,400 large-format, unsigned miniatures of Hamzanama ( Dastan -e Amir Hamza " stories of Amir Hamza " ), a hero novel, the illustration he commissioned Akbar along with Mir Sayyid Ali headed. Among his numerous portraits of the miniature princes of the House of Timur stands out, which makes the dynasty of the Mughals in the tradition of the Timurids. Generally, however, the assignment of individual paintings to Abd as- Samad is often disputed because in the early days of Mughal painting often worked several artists on a work and a lot of work remained unsigned.

Source

  • Gunter Meissner ( Lim. ): artists of the world ( Volume 1: A - Alanson ). KG Saur Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-598-22741-8.
  • Indian painter
  • Miniaturist
  • Painter of modern times
  • Iranian Art
  • Person ( Mughal Empire )
  • Born in the 16th century
  • Died in the 16th century
  • Man
Timurid dynasty
23743
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